Cold Tip Of The Scythe
by Hardman 5509
Summary: Why steal when you can kill? A look into a universe where the Coopers don't steal money, they steal lives. Rated T for graphic themes.
1. Into The Black Waters

As I dived into the ice cold, mine infested waters that surrounded the fortress where my first target lived, only one thought was in my mind. Nothing about the freezing water or danger of the explosives, but rather the one thing that made me leapt into such dangerous waters in the first place.

_'Only the guilty deserve the scythe. The innocent provide no challenge, no honor, and no pleasure. Death only comes for the monsters, and you shall be Death's hand.'_

That's the Cooper Code. My family code. I come from a long line of great assassins and killers that right many wrongs in the world.

And I'm the last one.

As a kid, I witnessed my father and our family log the Cooper Codex get torn to shreds by five monsters out of greed and jealousy. I held our family scythe, ready to strike and take my first life, but the cold eyes of one of the monsters looked straight into my soul, and I froze. Yet, he left with his section of the Codex, leaving me to cry over the mess that was my father.

My mother had no interest in the family business, and long since abandoned us. So I lived the rest of my shattered childhood in an old orphanage. Other children and parents tried to get close to me, but I shoved them aside for the true goal of revenge.

That's kept me moving the entire time. Revenge. Revenge against those monsters. I spent entire days and nights plotting; learning about my enemies so I can deliver the most pain to them before I take their lives to Hades. Even without the Codex to teach me the techniques that the clan had perfected, I still created my own craft and practiced on the criminals of the city.

So I decided to become a officer of the law. While they protect the lives of the guilty unless decided in the court of law, they had superior information than what I could find on my own. Thankfully, my orphanage got visited by a cop family looking for a boy to entertain their daughter.

I made a good impression.

As Constable Sylvester Fox, I had access to criminal files, could do interviews, and many other things that allowed me to jump entire gaps in my own personal assignment. I got my first break. Sir Raleigh matched the description of my father's killers. After managing to get a month's vacation, I made my way to his last known location.

The excitement must be getting to me. I'm starting to remember how I get here. It's only natural. After fifteen years, I'm ready.

As I lifted my head out of the water, I took a good look around. Guards with guns and flashlights, patrolling around. If they were trusted enough to hold guns, they were on his payroll. And the police file not only mentioned Raleigh as a inventor but also a pirate. These men have decided their fate.

As I took a guard with a radio into a dark corner, I recalled my first kill. Some drunk who just killed a poor lady and escaped in the confusion. At that point, I was still weak, and held the family scythe with both hands. The fight was clumsy, with me barely swinging it and him falling on his ass all the time.

But both the guard with the radio and the drunk ended the same way. Choking on their own blood as it stained the ground.

As I walked through the shadows, I messed with the radio to receive transmissions. Now let's see if there's anything worth while on…

"Check." Came the froggy voice of Raleigh. As a frog, it only sounded natural.

"Mansion check."

"Grounds check." I spoke, trying my best to sound like the guy before he died.

"Factory check." Nobody questioned me. I was in the clear. Just got to keep the radio on this channel and listen for the next check

"Shipyard check."

"Hold on…"

"Hold on?" Raleigh sounded annoyed. "What's wrong at the lab?"

"That turtle blew up another chemistry set."

"I swear, I should just kill him and feed him to the dogs." Raleigh then sighed before resuming his usual calm demeanor. "Lock him up. 8-hours. No food, no water. And for god's sake, don't even give him a toothpick. Just let Seth's unfortunate accident remind you why not!" And with the crackle, silence came over the radio.

I didn't know where Raleigh was, and I didn't care much for saving the turtle. After all, my plan is to make frog legs and ditch the place before the cops swarm in. If I know my partner, she's on her way right now.

On the other hand…this turtle clearly doesn't want to be here. Maybe he knows something.

* * *

Despite the place looking like it got built with whatever was within arm's reach, the security is actually up to date. Cameras, sentry guns hidden in objects, laser tripwires, I almost broke a sweat as I stepped over them.

To find where the turtle is, I had to first the lab. Thank god Raleigh placed signs all over the place. Guess he trusted his men enough to use guns, but not enough to find their way through their own base. Go figure.

Thankfully, finding the turtle's cell was easy as slitting someone's throat after asking where the turtle was. Swinging the ring of keys around my finger, I calmly strolled down the hallway to the cell. It seemed silly, but again, the excitement was getting to me. I felt giddy. Nobody could stop me.

I heard someone jump as I entered the key into the lock. As I slowly opened the door, I paid attention to the surrounding of the cell, to make sure that wasn't a trap or that the turtle wasn't planning on his own escape. I would have preferred to be taken down before killing my first target than being taken down by a nerd.

"W-who are-e y-ou-u?" Stuttered out the turtle. He wore a snazzy bowtie and clown-size glasses. If he had hair, he could use those glasses to help him comb.

"Somebody who needs some information." I replied bitterly. "Would you know where Raleigh tends to hide out?"

"L-loook…" His voice was starting to grate on me, and he only said four words to me.

"Where?" I shouted.

"I don't know, I don't know!"

I groaned as I lifted him off his feet. "I don't have time to play this game. So let me rephrase it. What's the best place for Raleigh to hide out in?"

"Well…" A nervous smile came to his face. "…did you see that giant blimp outside?"

"Raleigh is a inventor." I sighed as I dropped him. "And not just a inventor, he designed several weapons for one of history's worst criminal organizations."

"The Fiendish Five?"

"Yes…" I closed the door behind me. "Raleigh is smart. He wouldn't be dumb enough to hide out in something that noticeable and could be easily shot down." I showed him my scythe, which made him jump back in fear. "In fact, just scratching it with this will pop it like a cheap balloon."

"Actually…" He held his finger up. "Blimps are made with sterner material that prevents it from popped from something sharp…"

"Something sharp?" Anger overtook me, and I flicked the scythe, tearing a gash into the metal wall without even trying. "This is made out of a ancient metal found in only one place in the entire place, and that!" I pointed at the gash. "That is only a beginner's demonstration."

His Adam's Apple bobbed. "Actually…I made the blimp into a weather machine."

"That would explain the constant rain fall around the area…" I showed him the stolen radio. "…I overhead something about a shipyard. I know he's a pirate, but why you're your own boats in danger? Unless Raleigh doesn't care for his employees."

"Those ships are actually stolen. He creates terrible weather to wreck ships and has them recovered for the loot and as trophies."

I thought for a moment. "Does he have a tattered page in his possession?" I then asked.

"…Yeah…he proclaims it to be useless to him, and yet holds onto it like a family heirloom."

"It is a family heirloom…" I closed my eyes, recalling. I remember Raleigh throwing a bear trap at my father's leg. "…mine."

"…he keeps it on the blimp. If you want on, climb up the mooring line near the portside."

"Thank you." I opened the door, peeked out to see if any guards came down to check up on things, and started to head out. "Wait two minutes and head out. I will clear the way for you. Once you get out of this building, head over to the docks and catch a boat. The police will be coming soon, so make sure to put a white flag up."

"Wait!" He shouted. I was running out of patience, and it wouldn't be long before I would be discovered. Slamming the door shut, I carved my way out of the lab, giving the turtle a chance.

* * *

It was a long climb up, but my prizes were waiting for me.

Raleigh looked down right angry, and tuning some sort of shock pistol. The Codex page laid behind bars alive with electricity, with all of the wonderful stolen secrets ready to be freed.

"Oh." He put down the pistol. "For a minute, I thought the intruder killing my men was something dangerous. It's just a baby."

"Perhaps this will change your mind." I again displayed my scythe, letting it shine.

"…Oh great." Raleigh sighed. "Not only a baby, but a COOPER baby. I knew you're going to be a headache, but…oh no, 'Raleigh the genius is being stupid again.'" His accent went from being somewhat English into a bad Bronx accent. " 'We got what we came here for, let's beat it!'" He growled. "I knew keeping the master assassin's son alive was stupid!"

"You took the words out of my mouth." I titled my scythe as to cut him in half. He laughed. If he thought he was fast enough to grab the gun and get a shot off, the last thing that will go through his head would be how wrong he is. I gave off a nasty glare. He just laughed harder.

"Oh Cooper!" He got in between laughs. "This blimp is filled with my toughest guards! They could shoot you from a entire country away! And this blimp is pretty open."

"I could remove your neck before you could even say a single word."

"And there's your problems!" He finished his laughter. "You've been waiting nearly two decades to kill me, and you decided that a few more minutes wouldn't hurt!" He pulled out of his oversized top hat a cigar and a lighter and promptly got to smoking. Out of all the people in the world who knew the power of the Cooper clan, he seemed rather calm as Death stood right in front of him. "Unless…you need to know something."

I remained silent.

"Why did we kill your dad and leave you alive? Is that the reason why you haven't killed me yet? Surely, the answer must be obvious!"

"I don't think jealousy spared me." I replied.

"True." He patted some loose ash off his cigar. "But…the thing is…I don't know."

"You would lie to the reaper?" I roared.

"Not my call." He threw the cigar out the window. Great. I can now add littering to his sheet. "The funny thing is, we weren't supposed to kill your dad. Just steal the book. The guy who brought us together wanted to prove something. I didn't care."

"You didn't care that you would have a part of the greatest book on how to kill?"

"Oh please." He seemed…offended. "Killing is just killing. Its not that special. Shoot someone in the head. Poison the water. Stab someone in the heart. Drop them off the side of the Eiffel Tower. Your family just made it out to be akin to Shakespeare, yet all they did was write in purple prose. You see, I just wanted to kill someone famous, that's all."

My muscles tensed. While the scythe blade couldn't be broken by anything except by the same type of metal, but I have broken wood tougher than the shaft.

"Oh…speaking of killing." He resumed being smug. "You do have a second problem." He spread his arms out. "I don't have a neck for which you can remove."

Now, my turn to smile. "True. But here's something about killing you don't know about."

He seemed to be lost. "Son, I lived twice as long as you, and probably killed more people in one day than you have in your entire career. So, yeah, tell me. What is it that I don't know?"

"Us Coopers each have their own scythes, but…" I tapped my finger on an invisible desk, a motion tick I had. "…we do have a sense of humor. In fact, from what I remember, there's this passage that follows the motto."

"…fairly certain Panda King took the first part, but okay."

_"The righteous death is not by the flick of the scythe, but by the unknowing hands of the guilty themselves."_

"Sorry." Again, Raleigh was lost. "I'm not good with metaphors."

"Simple." I slapped on a thick glove onto my right hand. "Irony."

And with a motion quicker than the wind created by his storm machine, I slammed him into the electric cage, with me protected by the insulated glove. He screamed, the only thing he could as millions of volts surged through his body. He continued to scream and thrash around as his body slowly started to die.

I just pressed him further. Leave some marks. Closed caskets funerals are always more poetic.

* * *

My escape proved to be tougher than I thought. After dumping the well-done carcass over the side and retrieving the notes of my ninja assassin ancestor Riochi, I heard the well-known wail of police sirens.

A little early, Carmelita.

The waters were still choppy from the recent use of the weather machine, and my boat laid beyond the police lines. And I left my vacation outfit back on said boat, so no way to sneak past.

"Hey! Coon!"

The radio buzzed. The turtle must have picked up a radio from a dead guard. Now what?

"Down here!"

Looking over the platform, I saw that one of the mooring lines had been pulled out and now lead down to a boat. With a deep breath, I jumped over the side and slid down the rope. As I approached the boat below, I saw that the turtle had somehow obtained a police uniform of his size.

"Are these yours?" He asked, showing my suitcase with my tacky vacation clothes, all soaked from all the rain.

"Yeah, thanks." I took the clothes and quickly started to get dressed. As I did that, he revved the boat up and headed out. "Where are you taking me?"

"A secret port in the mainland. I figured you would like that."

"Again, my thanks."

"No need, you saved my life back there!" He said all happy-like. "Hold on, police craft. Hide your clothes!" I quickly shoved my assassin cloak into the case and kicked it into the hold.

"Hey!" Shouted the pig cop from another boat. "Is that one of the refugees?"

"Yeah!" The turtle shouted back.

"Take him to Point A67!" The cop shouted before he took off to the island.

"That was surprisingly easy." The turtle remarked, full with pride. "We'll make a great team."

"Woah there." I warned him with a finger point. "I work alone. Thank you for getting me out of there, but I don't need a anchor."

"Why not?"

"…I just told you, you're a anchor." I raised the tone of harshness in my voice to make the point clear. "I'm a assassin after some people who stole something important from my family years ago. I work with stealth and killing. Your talents involve science, and the only science that matters to me is autonomy."

The turtle staid quiet for a short bit, but he talked without even a slight ting in his voice. "…can I presume that your next target is Muggshot, the notorious bank robber, right?"

"Yes." I sighed. "But first, I need to find him."

"Mesa City."

"Pardon?"

"Muggshot operates in Mesa City, where he runs a casino." Now it became the turtle's turn to be the intimidating. "But not just the casino, but he owns the entire lands around the building. And he has the entire area filled with the latest and greatest security measures that makes the government's security look like tin cans on fishing line."

I felt anxious. The obvious way into Raleigh's base was through the water, but if Muggshot had that level of power…I guess I would some help.

"State your name and expertise." I stated.

"Oh! I'm Bentley, and I work with all electronics…including weapons and defenses."

"What do you wish to gain from this line of work?"

"The excitement of it all, and finding a opponent worth fighting."

"You could be killed at any moment. My enemies are cold-blooded killers, and will stoop to low levels to win."

Bentley took a moment to decide his answer. "…your enemies are now enemies."

"…my name is…" The dark clouds parted, and the sun shone through to return the sky.

" Sly. Sly Cooper."


	2. A Great Gamble

"It's a little funny…"

"What is?"

"…sorry, inside joke."

"Tell me."

"Fine. Why does a assassin belong in a casino?"

"Because they both gamble?"

"…yeah?"

I groaned yet again as Bentley tried and failed once again to make friendly talk. As if the trip-lasers and the bloodhounds with the tommy guns weren't bad enough.

Mesa City wasn't as hard as Bentley made it out to be. While security detail went up due to the demise of Sir Raleigh, I found a shortcut that got me in front of Muggshot's base of operations, a casino called the Boneyard. If I wanted to find Muggshot without Bentley's help, I would have just turned my head to the left slightly and look at the building decorated with nothing but dog appeal.

And yet, I had to be at least a week ahead of the police. Go figure.

I had to wait a week before coming here. I had two reasons as to why. The first was that Muggshot was holding a party in two days. I got here to scope the place out and decide on the best plan on getting my target. Muggshot was all muscle; some say he could block bullets by flexing. That, and the general idea of security outside meant the place inside would be a fort.

Second reason was that Bentley had to set up. Thank god Muggshot had parties thrice a week.

"So, got a plan yet?" Asked Bentley.

"And here I thought you were the brains." I grumbled back.

"Well, you're the master here." He snarked back. "I'm working on some bombs. Need any?"

"Depends." I spoke as I practiced Roichi's technique of the spiral jump. Thankfully Muggshot's territory had plenty of tiny platforms. "If the security is too tight, it would just be easier to blow up the entire floor above Muggshot and bury him."

"But…" Bentley started to stutter. "What about the other people in the building?"

"If Muggshot had any brain power, he would play with the rich and famous…possibly people he worked with before. Owner's table. Take out the general and his soldiers in a swift blow."

"But if he doesn't? What if he mostly mingles with the innocents?"

"Then I'll kill him in the middle of the crowd. I've done so before."

"Okay, good. What if there isn't a crowd thick enough to hide in?"

"Smoke bomb."

"But what if someone chokes?"

I groaned. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"I'm looking at all the possible variables." Bentley defended. "If you're planning on killing one of America's most successful business dog, you're going to have think ahead for everything."

"Then think ahead and make a smoke bomb that doesn't cause people to choke." I shot back. I lowered the volume on the earpiece in order to focus on a tricky jump across some power lines. At the end of the line, the last pole gave a great view of the casino and the security outside. While spread out thin, there didn't seem to a nonviolent route inside. If I killed anyone, it's over. Muggshot would call off the party until further notice, and Fort Knox would look unguarded compared to what Muggshot would do.

Then, some neon lights started to flick. Funny, the outside of the place looked clean. And then the light started to explode. Some guards took cover, while others left their posts to see the happening. I took this opportunity to swiftly enter through the service entrance.

"Enjoyed the light show?" Asked Bentley.

"…I got cameras."

"Sending loop." Bentley sighed. Guessed he wanted congratulations to overloading the lights. As the cameras flickered, I calmly walked to the door that led to the front desk, remembering the location of the cameras for later. The security inside almost didn't exist as only two guards were around, and they were getting a smoke in a corner underneath the stairs.

The place looked like any ordinary casino. Glaring lights, overbearing decorations, annoying sounds. Expect at near torturous levels. The lights were like spotlights and were aimed like something out of a police interrogation, the decorations were all dog and western stereotypes, and the sounds were coming from everywhere at once. A thought came into my mind to kill the people responsible for this first. But no, Muggshot would just hire new people. Cut off the cobra's head.

"Can you imagine all the loot in this place?" Bentley sounded excited.

"All of it is worthless to us." I replied. "Muggshot probably placed his stamp all over his money and stealing it will only cause unnecessary problems."

"But come on!" Now he sounded annoyed. Why? "If we're going to track down the Fiendish Five, we're going to need money! Money for traveling expenses, equipment, upkeep, food…you know…the important stuff!"

"I'm not a thief." I growled back.

"You're no gentlemen yourself."

"…what."

"What?"

"Let me put this straight." Bentley had just hit a rather sensitive button. "Gentleman thieves are amateurs. Any monkey with a toothpick could steal a gem. It takes skill to take a life and escape without leaving evidence. People fight back, even if you come up behind them without being detected."

"Err…Sly?"

"Thieves are smug. Over-confident. Boastful about the crime they commit. No wonder they get caught all the time."

"…aren't you supposed to be watching for guards?"

"Fine."

* * *

There was nothing but radio silence until I returned back to the shack that Bentley had set up. On the outside, one would wonder how the thing staid up. Inside, the place had walls that could block explosives. I don't know how the little green nerd pulled it off, but the place fitted my needs perfectly. Out of the way, protective, supplies, and had enough room. I liked being in small places. Felt natural.

"Got a plan?" Bentley asked without emotion. He must be a fan of thieves. Real shame for him to learn the truth.

"Simple." I rolled out a floor plan I 'found'. "You…that means you…will go to party and cheat your way to the dealer's table. Bentley, you will need to take a fall and let everyone know you're cheating."

"I just saw at least ten flaws with that plan."

"Hush." I pointed to the penthouse. "With the guards distracted, I will sneak in and wait for Muggshot. I'll rig the room with fake explosives, remove all security measures and get him to reveal the location of the Codex pages…and then I'll kill him in the cruelest way possible."

"What about me?" Bentley stuttered out.

"Be charming. Hand over the cheating device, and promise them something."

"What cheating device?"

"Invent one." I spread my arms out. "You made this. Surely a probability device or a machine that hacks a slot machine to 'even the odds' is nothing for you to sweat over."

"Okay…" He opened a toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver and a hammer. As he headed over to his workbench, he continued to talk. "…but where are you going to be while I'm risking my green neck as a simple distraction?"

"Folding into the crowd." I sighed before flopping onto the bed, hopping to get a little catnap before the big event. Yet, Bentley continued to bark like a dog. Wish I could put him down.

"Tell me about one of your ancestors."

"…I can arrange a meeting with them if you interrupt my sleep again."

"Okay, okay! Geez."

I grumbled as I closed my eyes. As I tried to dive into the darkness, I found myself being pulled back into the light.

"…ever heard of Tennessee Kid Cooper?" I asked, my eyes still closed.

"Famous outlaw killer?"

"Indeed. While a outlaw murderer himself, it also his title. The old west had a lot of criminals, but the worst were the ones who claimed to uphold the law. Dark stars shadowed the land, and Tennessee took up freelance to make it a better place. He would expose the corrupted right before he would lay them down to rest with their arms crossed, badge on their chest, and a bullet in the brain."

"How many did he kill?"

"…near a hundred. Eventually, after having a family, he set out for his last job. A train was carrying thirty-seven crooked lawmen to the east on protection from the Avenging Reaper. These were the last bunch of guys that Tennessee had on his list."

"Wait…" Bentley tapped the side of his head. "…that ended with a explosion and over sixty bodies, right?"

"Yeah…The Sunset Villa Express disaster. The closest a Cooper has gotten to public attention. Even then, they couldn't identify any bodies, so Tennessee could have ditched the train after placing the bomb and started a business selling snake oil."

"B-but…" Bentley again stuttered. He's going to have to lose it if he wants to follow me. "….there were federal cops on the train! And the people just running the train! He killed innocents doing their jobs!"

"Innocents?" I growled. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Right, Trekkie?" Bentley took the attack as super-effective. "There more murderers and thieves on that train than decent folks. And those cops could have been crooked too. Probably were taking bribes as the bomb went over. And the people on the train could have been the same too. In the end, a assassin must take the best route to take out the garbage."

"That's reckless!" Bentley cried out. "You don't know that! You don't know if they family waiting for them! Or really anything! How many lives has the Coopers ruined? By taking the direct route of just killing, you risk everything!"

I must have chuckled at the point, as Bentley didn't talk until later the night. I remember saying, "Then I guess your joke makes sense now."

* * *

Bentley went in first. I would wait fifteen minutes before mingling with the crowd and keeping a watchful eye on security. If all went well, this would only take two hours.

I could feel my blood pumping. I almost started to sweat a bit; a little from the heat and the rest from the excitement of it all. Raleigh might have had a fortress packed with guards and defenses, but this would be my first real challenge. Licking my chops, I continued to monitor the area in front of me, while I should have been looking around me for any guards.

_Zuup_

The distinct sound of a shock pistol powering up; right next to the back of my head.

"Make one false move and you'll light up like a Christmas Tree!" Came the order from the person holding the pistol. I stood up slowly, hands in the air. As I turned to my captor, my mind recognized the voice. As soon I made a 180, I made eye contact with a familiar face.

"Gotcha!" Carmelita burst out laughing. While clutching her side, she turned the shock pistol off. With the threat removed, I too started to laugh.

"Inspector!" I cried out, hugging my adopted-sister under my society-friendly 'Fox' persona. "What brings this far out west?"

"Well, two things, but let's go inside." She played with her collar. "I'm burning up."

Opening the door, I was surprised to see the entire casino to be filled with literally hundreds of people. From the rich to the lucky, anybody with any name was here to mingle, gamble and ramble. While I heard some snide remarks about my dollar-store suit, I heard much more about Carmelita's white dress. My sister always attracted people. From the handsome to the ugly, the sane to the deranged. She would brush them off with her hand or the butt of her handy pistol.

…while I admit I have feelings for my adopted sister, I had a lot to do first become considering continuing the Cooper legacy. One of the last things I had to was find a decent excuse.

As I swiped two glasses with sparkling white wine and handed one to Carmelita, she started on her reason being here. "First thing. Sir Raleigh's murder has set off a lot of alarms. In particular, this place rang the loudest. Muggshot is preparing to turn state witness in exchange for protection and lessened punishment."

Something burned up in my gut, and it wasn't the lousy wine. Second target, and he was taking the coward's way out. While I could take credit for suicide, the police would place Muggshot way out of my reach. I wasn't planning on dying until the Fiendish Five were thrown into hell.

"You okay?" Asked Carmelita. She always had a way with understanding faces.

"Bad wine." I dumped the rest into a potted plant before placing the empty glass onto a tray. "And that second thing?"

"…the second thing…" She started, before trailing off. She looked around before leading me to a less crowded corner by my arm. "…the second thing…I'm really not supposed to be here. I came here to find the Grey Sickle."

"The…Grey Sickle?" I asked, my 'Fox' persona being as confused as my 'Cooper' persona.

"You haven't seen the news…or read any reports?" She hissed. 'Fox' tended to be a bit lazy, and Carmelita tended to bug 'Fox' about paperwork. Sure, she hated it too, but she did it no matter what. I had the excuse of covering my tracks.

"You know me." I put on a dickish smile. It hurt my face doing it. She groaned, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a photo. She handed me it, and I took a good look at it.

My god, I thought. It's me! The photo thankfully shadowed me out, but I could tell by the shape of the figure and my scythe. By the looks, the photo was taken back at Raleigh's hideout.

"One of the security cameras was able to catch Raleigh's killer, barely. Since then, we connected him to various other murders of other criminals. The press named him 'The Grey Sickle' because of the one recurring element found in witness' testimonies. Interpol made it his official file name, and they sent me to take him down."

"I guess Interpol is getting jealous." I cracked.

"Jealous?" She spat out. "Sly, this man has been confirmed responsible for over twenty murders. And we have evidence pointing to him as the killer in over fifty cases. He's a psychopath. Who knows when he cracks and starts to kill out of pattern?"

"Hey, you're the one who expressed disgust of not nabbing every single criminal." I reminded her of her oath.

"But murder is not the answer." She groaned. "All it does is cause more problems for all involved. I seen cases like this before, and let me tell you, revenge can go a long way."

"Indeed." I muttered underneath my breath. She thankfully didn't hear that as she continued.

"Anyway, now that I have divulged top secret secrets, now tell me what brings you here." She asked, as returned to the main crowd.

"Three month vacation." I replied. "Mom and dad didn't tell you?"

"They told me that you borrowed a hundred thousand for some reason. Going on a world cruise?"

"In a way. I go wherever I feel like going." I put on that damn smile again. "Oh, and the hundred thousand hasn't been touched. So far, I've been living on my own hard-earned money."

"If that's supposed to be a burn…"

"Remind me, did that Barbie actually have a real diamond necklace?"

"No!" She laughed out. "Remember? After my two months grounding, I accidently dropped the damn thing and the 'diamond' broke into a million pieces!" She barely could say anything without laughing.

"And then mom re-grounded you for another week!" I said, following suite. While not funny to me, I had learned to realistically fake laughter from a young age.

"Oh yes…and then…" She stopped laughing for a minute to collect her thoughts. "…you blew it up!"

"I was sick of the voice!" No kidding there. The doll repeated the same ten phrases over and over. I blew it up with extreme prejudice.

"Mom grounded you for a week, but dad still snuck you her delicious chocolate cake during the night." Her silly smile faded as some unpleasant ideas came up. "They liked you more, huh?"

"They felt sorry for me." I grumbled out, something that would be said by either 'Fox' or 'Cooper'. They really did. It didn't take much to get that hundred thousand. "Sure, they never neglected you…"

She bit her lip. "…yeah." The conservation trailed off, but thankfully something else came up.

"I didn't cheat!"

Two massive Dobermen came down the stairs, easily carrying the struggling Bentley. He continued to proclaim his innocence. "I didn't cheat, I just changed the rules of the game!"

"Gee, I ever heard that before." The Doberman on the right groaned.

"Looks like my fun ends here." Carmelita sighed. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I replied. "Don't get shot."

"Trust me, I'm immune to spit." She got out as she pushed through the crowd.

Showtime.

* * *

As I predicted, I would need a breathing Muggshot to get the Codex pages. A simple examination of the room showed the only place I couldn't reach without alerting anyone: a bookshelf safe with the combination of a ocular lock and a thumbprint handle. About a year ago, me and Carmelita had a case involving the same kind of safe, with the owner being our victim. As part of the instructions, two people were recommended to be the safe openers. Muggshot would be one, and I had not time to find the second guy, if there was a second to begin with.

I ditched my penguin suit in a garbage disposal, so I could cool down with my assassin's gear. The fake bombs were planted, any forms of security were disabled, and I was alone in the dark, waiting to take my second step.

My mind began to wander to Bentley and Carmelita. Hopefully, Carmelita wouldn't pressure him into revealing my true identity. Only he knew. And I didn't want anyone else on my secret. Especially not Carmelita. To her, the world had only two colors. And she saw people as one or the other. She saw herself as a blinding white, and her casefiles were all painted pitch black.

As I started to imagine her as a angel, the door creaked open. I quickly deepened myself into the shadows.

"Yeah, yeah." Came the deep accent of my target. "Make sure he understands the entire message. Oh, and contact Henry. He could use that gizmo." He grumbled as he slammed the door shut. "Kids. I swear…" He trailed over into mumbling, before throwing off his stolen grey jacket and jumping into his throne. I gave him a moment to place his legs on his desk, light up a Cuban cigar before approaching him.

"Enjoy your smoke." I rasped as I placed my scythe up to his meaty throat.

"What the hel-"

"And don't bother doing anything." I chuckled a bit to deliver the next bit more effectively. "I dissembled your guns, took out your cameras and silent alarms…and if you think about attacking me…" I pointed to one of the bombs placed on a pillar. "I do have a parachute."

"Why…"

"Oh, I threw out your biscuits. I'm not a big fan of cheddar."

"Bastard!" He growled before talking through gritted teeth. "I take it you want something more valuable than just money."

"Safe." I placed the scythe closer to his Adam's apple. "Now."

"Well okay." He replied in a mocking voice before walking up to the safe in stride. As he opened the safe, he started to hum. If he's trying to unnerve me, it not's working. With a kind smile, he opened the safe, revealing my prize of the Codex pages.

"Well, that makes sense." He chuckled as I snatched the pages. "You're the Cooper kid, right? Killed your daddy?" He pointed at me. "Yeah…and what do you know? I told them it would come back and bite us in the ass, and now…" He sighed. "…let me guess. The bombs aren't real, and you're going to kill me as part of your revenge."

"On the head." I said as I placed the scythe on his neck, ready for the kill.

"So…Ms. Ruby is next, huh?" He again talked like this was a everyday thing.

"And here I thought were just the muscle of the Fiendish Five."

"Yeah, yeah." He groaned, pushing the scythe away with one hand. I couldn't move back. "Hey, everybody. Look at Muggshot. He's all muscle, and no brains. Kid, if I gained…half of a penny for every time my intelligence got insulted, I would break the world's economy."

He continued. "Raleigh is a engineer capable of building giant robots, Ruby can raise the dead to enslave a country, the Panda King could blow up Fort Knox times 10, and Clockwerk is capable of stealing the United Nations, you might ask…where does that leave me, Muggshot? Simple. I'm the eyes. I paid attention to things you might miss and catch onto things that a sharpen mind overlooks. Plus…" He put on a smug smile. "I can take any sort of punishment you can inflict on me."

"I will kill you." I growled. "No matter how fast you think."

"You underestimate me. I don't need to think. I already did."

And with a snap of fingers, lights blinded me while the sound of locking and loading of guns all happened at once.

"Release your weapon and assume the position or we will fire." Carmelita's voice came over a loudspeaker. Hopefully the lights would hide my identity.

Muggshot laughed. "Go ahead!" He yelled out as he released hold of my scythe. "Your gamble! Kill me and get caught, or figure out how to escape!" The whirring sound of a helicopter came from behind me. "Oops! Too late!" Muggshot laughed again.

"Today is your lucky day." I grumbled.

"Indeed." He lowered his voice. "I had a good run, and this was my last call. Thirty years of maximum security, with the chance of parole and lower sentencing for good behavior is my prize. You might get life if you're lucky." He patted me on the head, knowing I couldn't fight back without getting shot. "And even if you do escape and move on to the next target…" He chuckled before continuing. "…Ms. Ruby will have the actual Grim Reaper waiting for you, you Halloween reject."

I remained adamant. "Mugghsot." I spoke.

"Yeah?"

"So…your talents are resistance and perception, right?"

"And strength."

I cracked a small smile. "Let's test it out."

While writing this, I made sure not to mention my backup plan. The one real bomb.

It exploded right in Muggshot's face, and blowing out the windows for the top three floors. As soon as it went off, I dived through the window opposite of the copter and quickly swung into the next floor window. As soon I heard the order of 'HE'S ON THE NEXT FLOOR!' I dived back through the window and opened my chute, floating down and away from all the chaos coming from the top floor.

* * *

"What happened?" Bentley asked as he started to remove glass my head.

"Muggshot saw us coming and called the police." I grunted as he removed a rather large chunk near my ear. "The worst part of it…"

"Outside of blowing up the top floor of a national known casino, filled with police and nearly got arrested?"

"He lived." I said all livid. "He's scarred, but that's not good enough for me." I got up and smashed my fist into the side of the hut. "Now he's under 24/7 watch. I have to…" I breathed in heavily. "…let up on him for a while."

"You sound like you failed completely." Bentley showed the recovered pages of the Codex.

"Those are secondary!" I swiped the pages out of his hands. "Killing the ones who wronged the clan are the most important!"

"I can't argue with you." Bentley groaned. "Next stop, Haiti."

"Ms. Ruby lives in a swamp, huh?" I guessed. "I could use a break from sneaking around urban environments." I yawned. Today was more tiring I thought. "I'm going to turn in. Wake me only in a emergency, like if the police find us."

"Don't worry, I got cameras." Bentley muttered before turning around to watch the monitors. At least he was getting more focused on the mission than on morality. As I took the pages to bed, I looked them over. Apparently, Tennessee could have been in the circus with his tightrope running and rail slide. I didn't know those would prove useful in surviving the swamp. Before I tucked in for the night, I chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Asked Bentley from the other room.

"I was wrong about something." I replied as I threw my equipment into the corner.

"Thank god. What did you learn?"

"Tennessee sold lumber."


	3. What You Don't See

I remember what I said last time. A swamp would be a nice change of pace from sneaking around crowded environments?

Yeah, that was a lie. A damn. A damn, filthy lie.

That was the only thing on my mind as I tip-toed across tiny rocks through the thick, black mud to reach Mz. Ruby's hideout. The information I stole from Carmelita's desk didn't offer much on her, or her movements. Really, the only background on her made her out to be a queen of voodoo for a ancient cult. Currently, she was wanted for raising the dead, a charge I was sure didn't properly exist in the modern day world.

All I could was groan.

"How are you holding up?" Asked Bentley, completely smug.

"Perfect." I remarked as I hid a log. Oddly enough, Mz. Ruby has guards patrolling her swamp. Apparently having the ability of raising the dead doesn't help with protection. Zombies probably don't make for good security forces, anyway. "How's the red velvet cake?"

"Rich and delicious!" He smacked out. If there's one thing both my 'Fox' and 'Cooper' personas could agree on, red velvet cake was simply divine. During my assassin training while the guise of a cop, I nearly got caught after I stole a whole cake from a pastry shop owned by some mobsters. Carmelita had to pull some strings to save my rear, but I had to avoid stealing anything. It was tough, considering how many wicked souls tended to hang around places where red velvet cake was abundant.

"Look, you got anything on where I should go?" I asked as I pushed away some mossy vines.

"Mz. Ruby haz…oops…has a compound hidden about north-west from your current location. I don't have anything else. Our friendly-neighborhood necromancer is a mystery to everyone. Lived in the swamps, raised the dead in the swamps. That's it."

"It's better that way." I forced a smile on my face. "I rather not learn about her terrible childhood and feel any pang of guilt. Kill her and let the muck swallow her body and history up."

"For once, I come close to agreeing with you." Bentley muttered.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Look, just keep your eyes open for any guards or zombies." Bentley changed the subject. During our week that lead us from the cop-infested Mesa City to the smelly armpit of the world, Bentley had learned it was better to change the subject than continue to try to bond with me. It was cold, yes, to treat him like this, but he wanted to come along with me. A assassin's life is either short or long and bloody. You don't have time to make friends, just allies. He was ally, and he was finally starting to get into it.

"You're going into this fairly blind." Bentley grumbled. "The overgrowth is masking all signals, and it would take me at least fifteen hours to hack a satellite and get into orbit over the swamp just to get something."

"No time for that." I grunted as I grew tired of swatting away vines and just sliced through the ridiculous overgrowth. "If Carmelita is as good as I remember, Ruby is preparing for a major invasion in about nine!"

"Yeah, speaking of her…"

"No."

"For a man so focused on staying hided, you seem real friendly around a cop." Bentley said through gritted teeth. "Okay for you to hang around someone who could easily expose you, but for me to know anything about the potential threat? Ooh, that's _evil_!"

"Oh, fine." I sighed as I sat down on a non-mossy rock. "You have come this far, so it's only fair if I tell you the truth."

"Good." Bentley grumbled. "From the top. I know about how the Fiendish Five killed your parents and stole the pages of your family history book. What's your connection to the Inspector?"

"…after my parent's death, the cops came too late for anything, except for sending me to jail. Well, a orphanage, but it felt like jail with all the bars. I wasn't there long, and I didn't care for remembering it at all. Fairly certain I was considered a suspect, but like all the children there, I was forgotten."

"I grew up in a orphanage, and I lived." He again grumbled.

"Good for you." I replied back in the same tone. "Whenever parents came over, I noticed that a great deal of them happened to be police officers. I even recognized one of them as the officer that kicked down the door I painted with my parents."

"I then developed a plan. A plan to escape the orphanage, train myself, and get revenge."

"I studied what a parent looked for in a child, and worked on my sad face and lying to get what I needed. And I did. I became a Fox. Sylvester Fox. Latter Constable Sylvester Fox. My identity as a cop provided the near-perfect cover I needed to train my assassin skills. While many turned their heads to the amount of bodies on my watch, I got my job done and all deaths were either justified or 'accidental'.

"And once you found Raleigh, you got a vacation and set out."

"Yep." I leapt off the rock and looked through the deep foliage. "My new mom is a commissioner, so I got a extended one. Three months is all I get."

"And it took us a month to get this far." Bentley counted. "At least we're half-way there."

"Agreed." I hacked through some bushes as I continued my way. "Who knows? Maybe we'll catch up with the other two in the next month. I could spend the last part of my vacation actually on vacation. After being here, I wouldn't…"

"Something wrong?"

"I…found her base."

"And?"

"How did you miss a entire village?" I shouted under my breath as I gazed upon a wooden village standing on wooden pillars in the darkest part of the swamp. Lights were on everywhere. What connection does Mz. Ruby have with this village? She lived here, normally? Were the villagers here slaves? Did she get rid of them to make this her base of operations? Again, the crocodile proved to be the most mysterious member of the Fiendish Five. She really had a way to keep people guessing.

"There's no record of a village. Either she built it, or this village is filled with natives." Some furious tapping came over the channel. "I'm going to say it was built recently, other native villages aren't this complex."

"I'm going in." I leapt onto a strong-looking vine and climbed up to one of the platforms.

"Be careful."

"Hmm." I replied.

The village had a lot of guards patrolling around. Unlike Raleigh and Muggshot's trained goons who had the look of a trained killer in their eyes, Ruby's minions looked more dead. They weren't zombies, their eyes lacked focus or clarity. It reminded me of a street-side act I saw during my beat cop days, where a hypnotist made a man think he was Jean Luc Picard and recite his speech from Drumhead. Apparently, raising the dead was boring to Ruby.

Because they traveled in the ruts Ruby dug for them, it was easy to work my way around them. I had no plan to kill any of them. They looked to be natives and held their spears like a broom; they were innocents, and I protect innocents. This only complicated things. If I didn't sneak in and kill Ruby silently, I would have to deal with a lot of insane people, and I might be forced to kill some.

"SILENCE!"

My thoughts got broke up with a screeching cry. I could have sworn that one of mindless guards broke from his trance for a second before returning to his loop. The voice sounded female, clear, and powerful. Maybe this could be Mz. Ruby. I got up into a tree and headed closer to voice.

"You have eaten our entire supply of chicken gumbo and you're still hungry?"

"…yes?"

"You brainless grès bata!" As I got closer to the two voices, I began to see a small arena made out of bricks and a throne made of bones. A giant female crocodile sat on the throne while a shivering purple hippo stood in the arena.

"But Mama Ruby!"

"Hush child!" The crocodile held out a scaly hand while closing her eyes. "I'm getting a vision." She started to eerily hum, while the hippo's shaking went even faster. "I'm thinking…you and the Beast should tangle in the arena!"

"No!" The hippo got down on his knees. "Not the Beast! Mama!"

"Oh don't worry, child." Mz. Ruby smiled. "I control the Beast. Once you learn your lesson, I'll send him back to his cage."

"Please!"

"Murray, my dear child. You want to be strong? Then let this…be a…test."

A great screech, louder than Ruby, came from behind Murray. This one would have deafen me, if not for Bentley's earpiece. But that thing shattered after the monster's cry ended, leaving me alone again. Ruby snapped her fingers, and the thick wooden gate at the mouth of the arena creaked down.

Even I felt scared. The Beast was a giant serpent, covered in moss and vines, fangs glaring, and dripping in mud. Murray screamed, the perfect reaction to seeing a dragon coming after you. I gasped. This was my first time seeing something supernatural. Up to now, I dealt with mechanical menaces. I didn't even know if I could kill that thing.

Two thoughts came over me. Me and Murray shared a familiar past. However, his parent preferred torturing than caring. I felt the need to go down and rescue him. But that would blow my cover. And that would lead me to fight through the mind-controlled natives.

Yet, my scythe had already sliced through the right eye of the Beast.

"What?" Ruby asked. I dashed around side the Beast, making sure to avoid Ruby's sight. Swinging my scythe down like a axe, I hit a vein in the creature's back, leading to a fountain of blood and a horrifying cry of pain. As Ruby cried orders to the Beast, I ducked around claws and the Beast's sweeping tail as I aimed for the neck.

Unfortunately, the Beast butted his head into my chest, knocking me down. I wasn't expecting the creature to pull off a trick like that. As I struggled to get up, I again got hit, this time by the long tail. My assassin garb prevented my ribs from being cracked, but it did knock the wind out of me. Despite the heavy bleeding from two sensitive areas, the Beast grabbed me with one claw and prepared to squeeze me like a sponge.

But it didn't come. The Beast shrieked in pain again as it got thrown into the wall nearby. The former cowardly Murray had grabbed the beast and performed the deed, roaring in reply. While I regained my balance, Murray leapt on top of the Beast and just pounded its face in with both of his meaty hands. I noticed he was huge, but I thought it was mostly fat and not muscle.

One sick crunch later, and one of the Beast's eyeballs landed next to my feet. The Beast's skull had been caved in, and the skin sagged into the many craters. Murray breathed heavily in and out, like killing a unnatural monster was nothing more than a simple exercise. The Beast never got to cry out or anything.

"Murray…" Came a clearly alarmed sounding Mz. Ruby. "…that…"

Before she could finish her sentence, I took her absolute mental break and threw down three smoke bombs. Just enough to cover me and Murray's escape. Ruby had to take a minute to recover and yelled for Murray to return. I had to wonder if she was dumb enough to angry the hippo who just killed her monster.

Unless that monster was just a appetizer.

* * *

"Wow, that….was…AWESOME"

I remained silent. Ever since we got away from the arena and landed somewhere underneath the village, Murray had done nothing but say outdated catchphrases. The one saving grace to the whole debacle? Mz. Ruby sent guards to look around the village, and nowhere else. Considering the large amount of mud and moss I had to get through to get here, it's fair to say she wasn't expecting anybody of making it through the swamp twice.

I felt like entertaining the notion of burning down the swamp so I didn't need to come back here ever again.

"You mind being quiet?" I sternly asked Murray. "We're been stalked by your mother's zombies."

"Oh, she's not my mom." He replied in a child-like voice. "My parents left me as a baby at the doorstep of a nunnery…"

"Ruby told you that."

"...and Mz. Ruby adopted me." He put his hands together and started to tap his fingers. "Sure, I had a rough life, but I became strong." He flexed his muscles. For a guy who just beat a monster to death, he seemed so child-like. Did he have bi-polar disorder?

"Look…" I took a second to get my words in order. He clearly had some sort of love for her. And he seemed like a somebody who could help me. His strength could easily get rid of some barriers in my path. "…I need to talk with your mother. Privately if possible."

"Well, she does hang around that shaman shack in the north part of the village every day for about a hour…in about a hour." He said while looking at dim sunlight that could pass through the trees. "Why do you want to talk with her about?"

"A matter of something she stole." I told the truth without telling the truth.

"Okay." He said all dejected. Apparently, I wasn't the first to try this. "What did she take this time?"

"Some pages from my family's history."

"So you come here to steal back what belongs to you." Now he sounded impressed. "I always like thieves, but I never imagined to meet one!"

"What makes me a thief?" I asked, containing the anger inside. "Stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you. I'm here to reclaim what she took. It's…fair."

"Your clothes." Murray pointed at my gear. "You look like a thief."

"I'm not a thief." I got through my gritted teeth. Bentley, despite his constant questioning, knew better. So I decided to 'sugar-coat' some things. "Thieves are the worst kind of people out there, Murray. They…don't care for anything but things with prices on them. If a priceless item stood in the way of some child's parents, they would show the child their parent's corpses before they would leave." I held back my tears. I didn't need to show any weakness to anyone.

"…what about the thieves who only steal from thieves?" Murray then asked.

"If you mean gentleman thieves…they're worse. Do you think a smile can change facts? A tip of their hats and they could be cleared of murder? I've seen them before. They think they haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh…" Murray tapped his fingers again. He must do that when he's nervous.

"Look, just north of here is a friend of mine. A turtle named Bentley. Tell him that Sly sent you. I'll have my chat with your mother and we'll take you far away from here. You don't have to be stuck here."

"Okay." While he obviously didn't want to leave, a quick look at my glare convinced him otherwise. He bounded off. Hopefully, he lived here long enough to know what's dangerous.

As I climbed back onto the pier, I began to think about Bentley. I began to miss him, and without the earpiece, he probably started to panic. Actually, knowing my luck, he probably found something important that could help me. Like how one puddle of mud probably would explode if lit by a unnatural agent.

Still…sometimes the best way to get something done is the simple way.

* * *

Mz. Ruby apparently was a creature of habit. Exactly on the hour as Murray said, she barked some commands to her mindless minions as to prevent any further disturbances as she did her daily 'meditation.' While the hut looked liked a place that one of the mystic arts could focus, I only got a good look at it from under a thick rug. I decided to wait and watch.

Yet, she did sit in the lotus position and started to mumble out some words in some language long dead. I started to sweat a bit. From the humidity, and from the question: Was she expecting me? Did I end up in a trap? I held my scythe in one hand as I used the other one to make my way through the dark.

"Cooper." Mz. Ruby said in a rather calm voice, eyes still closed. "You come here to avenge anger and greed."

I remained in the dark and silent. Hopefully, she was grabbing straws and would attack somewhere else to give me a easy kill. While I prefer a challenge, today needed to end soon.

"During my younger years, I worked with some…ugly people. A uptight brat, a stupid mutt, a charming noble…and someone who takes the term of 'monster' and laughs at it." She got up. "I had some regrets about your family. I only wanted the pages, not bodies."

"I remember you biting my father's throat." I growled before ducking away. She played me. No wonder she got this far.

"True, but I decided me over him." She took a deep intake of air. For someone who apparently could raise the dead and rewire man's minds, she sure relied on rather simple tricks and animal instincts. "I asked the others to end your suffering…but I was denied…"

"Funny, both Muggshot and Raleigh said they wanted to kill me, but the others 'denied' that." I told her. "So…one of you is lying."

"Little man…" Another sniff. Her huge meaty head neared my location. "…it's been fifteen years. Our memories are a little muddled. Plus…" She licked her lips. Possibly, she liked the taste of raccoon flesh. "…It's possible we all wanted you dead, but Clockwerk wanted you…alive."

"I heard a lot of Clockwerk." I threw my voice to the other side of the room. Ruby didn't react. I slowly inched my way away from her, but she apparently could see me in the shadow-filled hut. "But nothing specific."

"Here's something specific." She smiled. "Clockwerk lead us to your old house. He was the one who put your parents out of their misery."

"As I recall…the Fiendish Five tended to be a leaderless gang."

"We had elections for certain jobs. But Clockwerk could be considered the leader. After all…" She got closer to me. I could feel her heated breath. Her mouth started to open, her mangled teeth ready to rip and tear into me. "...your house was the first job we ever did."

I almost came close to snapping my scythe with my gritted hand. The strain I placed on it was louder than I thought, and me and Ruby were now staring each other down. She again licked her lips in excitement. A unearthly growl emerged from her two-foot wide mouth.

"Shall we dance?" She asked.

I took the first step.

* * *

My memory of that fight usually gave me a headache. By the far the most brutal assassination I ever did. Her scaly hide deflected a good chunk of my attacks, and her soft underbelly rarely came around. Again, she never used her magic skills, as she apparently could take Muggshot with her bare hands. Her teeth would have ended me with only a graze.

But only I left the hut alive. Bleeding from various deep claw wounds, but alive. The hut started to leak blood and it seeped into the swamp mud and the color faded away. Thankfully, as my bleeding wouldn't stop even with ripped parts of my outfit, I could escape without being followed.

Don't know if anyone would though. After Ruby gasped out her last words, I could hear some confused people talking in some foreign languages. Her death must have undone her magic. As they were innocents, I left them alone. They could do whatever they wanted with Ruby's body.

I trudged through the swamp one last time, my eyes only darting away from the straight path to give any animal that dared to interfere with me. Within minutes, Bentley's camp laid nearby. Without a care, I sliced open my tent flap and fell into down onto my sleeping bag.

As I ripped off my outfit and started to apply some proper first-aid, I heard some footsteps in the thick mud. I stuck my scythe out of the death.

"Woah, WOAH! It's me!" Bentley cried out. "We need to talk!"

I retracted my scythe. "Enter."

Bentley gently crawled in, paying attention to all the bloody clothes and my stained scythe. "I take it…"

"Yes…" I groaned as I injected some antibiotics into my torn arm. Fairly certain her claws were doused in poison. Not taking any chances. "…it went well."

"So, what are we going to do with Murray?" He pointed over to the other tent. I could hear a faint sound of someone stuffing huge amounts of food into their mouth. "We can't support him unless we take some smaller, paying, jobs."

"We'll see. His strength could be useful to us in the future." I opened my rug sack and pulled out my recovered pages of the Codex. It told about one of the earliest ancestor, Slytunkhamen II. AKA, The Final Plague. When the royals of the land ordered the first born children of all the slaves to be thrown into the crocodile, he personally did the deed to all the children of the royals.

Yet, the pages were stained with tears. It was some of the first pages of the Codex, and regrets were already written in. The Codex was written from doing such a act again. Yet, what Slytunkhamen did was right. The royals were doing a horrid thing for no reasons; they became monsters. Their children would look at them and learn what was wrong to the entire world was right to them; therefore they also became monsters. It wasn't revenge, nobody died yet.

He created the code. 'Only the guilty deserved the scythe.' Why would we feel guilty about killing the guilty?

"One more thing." Bentley asked, with one hand outside. "I know that Mz. Ruby adopted Murray. What do I tell him?"

I took a second to think of a answer. "Tell him…when I got my treasure back, his mother…told me…that she hated you and never wanted to see you again." I laid down on my cot. Bentley didn't say anything, and just closed the tent as best as possible.

I could hear Murray crying his heart out just a minute later. Either he was gullible, or he knew that Ruby would say something like that. I turned away from the noise to get some rest. But I couldn't. Murray's crying woke a blood-stained memory. The one about how my mother's last words were my name in panic. And when I remembered my mother's last words, I remembered another mother's last words.

"_Murray…I loved…"_

_SSHHLLIICCKK._

_No more._


	4. The Frozen Heart On The Icy Slope

For the first time in my career, I found myself amazed by where my mission took me. I never had any interest in anything Chinese, but as I crossed the snowy mountains at night and going through detailed towers, I had to hold myself back not to spend the time gazing at the sights.

I had only two targets left. Considering how I killed every other member of the Fiendish Five, I didn't want the tradition to continue. Muggshot just received the 'Best New Arrival' award from his prison. I didn't want the Panda King literally walking into a cell and then leaving ten seconds later.

Thankfully, he had a known record, unlike his former comrade. He came from a proud family of fireworks experts, and on his 16th birthday, he received a chance to run the entire fireworks display on New Year's Eve. It was supposed to be his big debut.

But he ended up burning down his own village.

But don't feel sad for him. It became his main way of making money. If you don't pay, you get blown away. If any law enforcement came by, he would cause a avalanche to literally cover his tracks. And because he had a base deep in the narrow Kunlun Mountains, it made it next to impossible to lead a air assault. The only downside is while he could live here for as long as he want, he could never leave. All the army could do was to set up a ring of watchtowers to catch anyone who left the mountains.

Getting in actually provided a worthy challenge. The Chinese army didn't hire complete idiots; they hired people who checked behind them every minute. I wasn't used to knocking out people and stealing their clothes, but it was the only way into the mountains, outside of scaling up a sheer thousand foot mountain face. My scythe could support my weight and could pierce the rock, but I wouldn't be able to support the scythe for long.

The Panda King had a giant metal factory to make his fireworks, which stuck out with the Oriental buildings. Destroying it would be simple. Find the room where they kept the black powder, (Like a freezer with a tight lid) move a couple cans of it to where the fireworks are actually made, light and run.

Of course, Panda King came first in my book. But leaving the factory running would just make him a martyr to his followers. But I had a plan. Hide a bomb, and explode it in front of Panda King's eyes. Let him watch as his empire crumbles right in front of him. And if he so wishes, I will gladly end his misery.

"Do they have any Moo Goo Guy Pan?" Murray spluttered out.

As much as I was loving the mission, there was a downside. Of course. Why wouldn't there be. Initially, I thought I would need Murray to help me with destroying the factory. But as we barely snuck through the guard tower and into the range, I realized it would be easier just to make a bomb on the spot. What was I thinking? It wouldn't be very stealthy if a giant hippo was tearing apart a machine.

"I'm not sure that's not how you pronounce it." I replied back, keeping my voice low to avoid detection and nice enough to not piss Murray off.

I should discuss Murray. The death of his 'mother' had left him in a pitiful state. In the two weeks that took us from that wretched swamp to the beautiful mountains, he barely spoke. He sure ate a lot though. At least when we did small jobs for the pay, he helped out big time. His brute strength might not seem like ideal for assassination, but when you got a gator twice the size of the three of us stacked together, you need it.

But I always killed the targets when the back was turned. He never knew about Mz. Ruby. He didn't need to. He doesn't need to feel sad for a monster, or any monster for that matter.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked.

"First off, avoid breaking anything that is red." I warned him. "From my experience, anything red means something dangerous. Usually that means fire or explosions or both."

"Okay." He bobbed his head.

"Second, don't eat anything."

"Sorry."

"Third…we're going to hit the factory first, plant the bomb and then we go after the Panda King." I pointed to the tallest tower, literally placed inside the mountain across a deep gorge. "Bentley believes he's up there. I'm inclined to believe him. Look at the other towers. Notice any difference?"

"The big one looks more bulkier."

"Good. That means that the tower is metal under the wood panels."

"Why would you do that?"

"For protection. Meaning something…or someone important is inside."

"How do we get over there?" Murray pointed out. I scanned the area for any signs of a retractable bridge. It looked like the tower had a slot for it, but I didn't see where the bridge would come from. Presumably, it was hidden in the snow.

"We'll look for the bridge later." I pointed my scythe to the factory. "We'll head there first."

* * *

For a giant walking tank, Murray managed to sneak past some pretty watchful eyes. The Panda King knew that the factory was a linchpin, and once plucked, everything would fall apart. And I bought somebody to pull that pin out.

Getting through the factory was fairly tough, but again I shall detail in lovely glory, this place is better than that swamp. I swear, I'm going to need therapy once I finish this. Anyway, the factory wasn't meant to hold firefights, it was just a factory. Cover was hard to come by, but so far, so good.

However, the hardest problem was dealing with the guards. Murray might be missing some lights off the Christmas tree, but if I killed anyone in front of him he would figure out the truth what really went down with Mz. Ruby. Of course, my scythe would have given it away. So playing easy became a lot harder, given the fact I never really practiced non-lethal take-downs and Murray could break their necks by flicking them.

At least we made it through without any trouble. That's always a good thing to report. Armed with a few pounds of black powder in tow, we made tracks for the room where the cargo was ready for shipping. As I searched the room for a good hiding spot for the bomb, Murray began to talk. So glad I took out the guards first.

"What are you going to do with the Panda King?" He asked.

"Let him watch as his place goes down." I replied, telling him the 'truth'. "I take my Codex page and beat a hasty retreat before the army moves in to check the explosion." I reached into my coat pocket and handed Murray a map. "Here, after the bomb gets set up, follow the path through the mountain and get back to Bentley. I'll catch up."

"Sly?"

"Yes?" I groaned from underneath the truck near the biggest dump. By my predictions, the bomb would set the truck ablaze, light the fireworks and send them all over the factory to explode in a bright fashion.

"Is he going to die too?"

I already had a excuse lined up. "It's up to the government around here. He's done a lot of terrible things to the people around here, so if they think that the death penalty is necessary punishment, it's not up to us."

"…okay…" Murray started to walk off in the direction on the map pointed him. He sounded…dejected. As if the populace-approved death was too good for the pyromanic. After I could no longer hear his loud footsteps, I wired the bomb with a receiver strong enough to pick up the detonation signal from the tower.

Everything is set. I started to feel giddy again. So much so, I didn't care about anything else.

* * *

Getting to the King took some time. There was a bridge, but it required so many security precautions it was just smarter to find a firework and ride it over. As it turns out, the bridge just happened to be the key to the door, so I needed to climb up the reinforced tower. With careful precision, I dug my scythe into the less thick mountain and had to climb up real slow-like to reach the glass window at the twentieth floor.

But at least crashing through caught the slob's attention.

"Cooper." His voice boomed. As expected of a fat panda who lived like a royal. "I have been expecting you since that fateful day at your house." He cracked his knuckles, expecting a honest one-on-one fight that wasn't going to happen.

I gritted my teeth and gripped my scythe tighter. "At least you were smart enough to prepare accordingly."

"I'm prepared for anything, child." He got into the crane style, ready for his quick death.

"…really?" I smiled. "Then, tell me this. What did I do before I came here?"

He punched the air in front of him. "Should I even care?"

"You should." I withdrew the detonator and held it out in front of him. "Take a wild guess."

"Hmm." The Panda King just…sighed. "My factory is about to explode, right?"

"…and here I thought…"

He snapped his fingers. And after the resounding echo faded, a explosion happened right behind me.

The factory. He blew up his own factory.

He blew up his own damn factory before I could!

"As soon as I heard the news of Raleigh's death, I knew my prediction had came true." He dropped his style. "Leave a crying child over the corpse of his parents, and you'll see the adult laughing over yours."

"You…" I couldn't even talk. So far, all the Fiendish Five had some sort of defense waiting for me. Raleigh basically had a military base. Muggshot surrendered to the law to avoid me. Ruby also had a military base and fought back. The Panda King, a living mountain, a master of bomb-making, blackbelt in his own style of martial arts…just…gave up.

"I've lived a rather sinful life."

"No shit." I got out.

"Your tongue is far more vile than my entire body." The Panda King remarked. He spread his arms to show the place. "I gained all this wealth and glory because of a small accident…one that you know every detail to."

"But you continued like you did it on purpose."

"I had no reason to destroy the home my mother built with her blood and sweat." He sounded angry. But not because of the accident. Oh no. He was angry because it was all over, and he rather die than to be killed. "But when the people turned against me and called me a monster, I decided to grant their wishes."

"Stop trying to defend yourself." I proclaimed, as the sky behind turned a bright orange. "You took pleasure in what you did."

"I did, did I?" He asked, before sighing. "I was thrown here to die, you ignorant child. The only way I can leave if I bribe a dozen men to look a different direction for a minute, and it costs more to get back in. I only left this mountain range three times since I was cast out. First time it was to gather supplies and followers. Second time…we met. And the third time…" He stopped at the third time. "…to pick up the daughter I didn't know I had."

I never felt so infuriated in my life. This...thing…was trying to become…human. I couldn't think straight. I just wanted to silence the ramblings. But I knew better. He blew up his own factory to annoy me; attacking him would be suicidal.

"Jing King fixed my cold heart." He sighed. Again? "I did the extortion business as senseless revenge against the stupid people of the land. She pointed out the obvious flaw in my plan."

"A obvious flaw." I stepped closer. The fire outside was getting bigger, and nothing but time would quell it. "You set fire to villages if they don't pay you. You bury men simply doing their jobs alive. You…" I stabbed him in the chest with my finger. "…you think those aren't obvious flaws?"

He glared. "You blew up a building with men also doing their jobs."

"You have experience."

"…so I have."

"HOW DARE YOU!" I roared as kicked him off his feet. My foot swelled in pain, but I ignored it. "You dare to give up? After all this! All this! For nothing. I came all the way here to kill a monster and all I find is a mouse! You killed my parents, stole pages from a ancient encyclopedia…"

"So you're selfish." He boomed.

"Shut…"

And up I went, as his massive foot bulldozed into my face. I landed right next to the hole I made in the window. Again, he took the floor. " You're selfish. You came for…revenge. Not vengeance. Revenge is a worthless, selfish cause in which no one wins. You could have fought for all the people I killed for nothing, but instead…you aim to kill me for two instead of a thousand."

"So that's what this all about!" I started to laugh. The blow must have rattled my brains. "You blew up your factory just so you can talk down to me!" I cackled. "Like you have any standing!"

"I need to stop you from destroying yourself."

"Whatcha talking about, Willis?"

"Look at yourself." He said. "Dressed in a cloak stained with blood. You have removed many horrible things from this world, but you don't care for the impact. You think killing is the only way to solve problems?"

I couldn't answer that.

"Of course not. Even someone as bloodthirsty as you knows better. You were on planning on blowing up my factory and letting me watch as everything I created goes up in flames before killing, weren't you?"

"Yes." I growled. "I wanted you to suffer."

"But I don't." He…turned his back. Every moment with him was driving me to insanity. "I made sure to have my entire staff to abandon the entire area. Turn themselves in, sneak out, or fight out, it's their choice."

"Spare me." I held my scythe to his throat. He didn't move. "Please. Spare me your holier than thou attitude and submit to the hell you deserve."

"Like a child with a stick." He remarked.

"SHUT UP!" I said, adding to his pool of evidence.

"But yes, I deserve punishment." He got down onto his knees, ready. "I've lived a horrid life, and death is my reward. But…" I again groaned. "…I have only one regret and one thing I'm thankful for."

"I take it's your daughter." I remarked.

"Only as a regret to leave her here in the cold. She's innocent. Your code forbids to harm her."

"…I'll find her mother." I said in a rare moment of kindness, which sprang from the code I keep above all.

"It will be for the best." Panda King bowed his head, ready for the final blow.

"Before you go, one more thing." I asked. "If you're not thankful for your daughter convincing the error of your ways, what are you thankful for?"

He laughed, like it was dumb joke. "One thing."

I bended down so my right ear was right in front of his mouth. "Tell me."

Five words.

All it took was five words.

All it took was five words was to drive me into a rage worthy of the hell-beat Cerberus itself.

"I am not like you."

Fury overtook me. Never before have I felt so much rage exploding in me. The scythe became much more of a axe as I swung down upon his neck.

"STOP!"

But the familiar cry stopped me. Both me and the Panda King looked over to the far side of the tower to see two figures running over to us.

"Murray?" I asked, going even more mental as these events kept on going. I almost forgot about him. Looks like he escaped the blast in time, but he must have followed me here somehow.

"Jing?" The Panda King also asked, more scared than angry or confused.

"Father!" She cried out, her eyes red from crying. She fell into his open arms to cry even more into his chest.

"You shouldn't have come here." The Panda King sternly said.

"But…" She started to say, but she drowned in her own tears before she could continue.

"She helped me get up here, Sly!" Murray proclaimed. "What are you doing? Is he not giving you the pages?"

"…yeah. I'm…being…forceful." I started to stumble. For once, I didn't have a proper excuse for Murray. He usually followed orders to the letter. He never saw anybody killed.

"You haven't told your friend the truth?" The Panda King said.

"He doesn't need to know!" I shouted back. I pointed my scythe at him…and then withdrew.

Jing was laying on top of her father, crying still. No. Wait. It wasn't her. It was me, all those years ago. And the Panda King wasn't the Panda King, it was…my father. But I barely harmed the Panda King…where did the all bloody wounds come from…

No.

No.

NO.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" I screamed, placing my round edge of my scythe into the Panda King's neck.

"What are you…!"

"You know that I watched my father die! YOU WERE THERE!" I flicked my scythe, cutting a thing line into the Panda King's neck. "And now! Now you think I'll spare you because your own child steps over you!"

"I didn't mean for it to be like this!" He sounded panicked! Like he could like that! He's faking! Acting! "She's was supposed to somewhere else!"

"YOU LIE!" I again struck the Panda King, this time in the chest and more deeper. He was starting to bleed out. "You wasted time with nonsense to allow your offspring to get here!"

"NO!" He tried to swipe his arm at me, but he just fell flat on his face and decreasing his life span even more.

"You think this will prevent me from killing you!" I again dug the scythe into his neck, deeping the wound. "You can't do this!"

"FATHER!"

"Shut up!" I slapped her with my free hand.

And then I got slapped by a bigger hand.

"Murray?" I asked, putting my head back on. " Do you realize…"

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Murray repeated, as he dived his hand into the ground where I laid before.

"He needs to die!"

"Like Mommy?" He asked, his voice rising to the rage heard when he beat the Beast to death. He wasn't going to take prisoners.

"This is how things work!" I screamed back, slashing in front of him to keep him back. "The monsters die for the better good!"

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!" He replied, braving my defensive attacks and picking me up. Regardless of my struggle, I got throw out of the window, and not out the same window I came in from. And as I fell out his sight and into the snow, I could hear him helping the Panda King off the floor.

* * *

Faking my death to Bentley was harder than I thought. If Murray betrayed me, then so shall Bentley in due time. No earpiece, implant under the skin, nothing. Shame really. Our last conservation was about how I should wear thicker clothes into the mountain range and I scoffed at him. He was right then, but not now.

My clothes were both soaked by the snow and torn by crashing through two different windows. I ditched the pair and switched to the normal clothes I packed nearby. As I watched my clothes burn to hide the evidence, I looked over the pages of the Codex, remarking on another English ancestor of mine who shot the Red Baron just because he thought his mustache was off by a inch.

So I was alone now. Again. I liked it this way. Only one target was left anyway. I already had plans to leave them once Clockwerk laid in his grave. They helped me get this far, and I had no plans to go further with a team. I liked being alone.

But after I escaped the range and made my way to the village nearby, I would have one of my last conservations with somebody close.

"Sly?"

"Carmelita?" The two of us were surprised beyond belief. Again, we met in another part of the world.

"Enjoying your tour I see." She said after we finished hugging.

"Oh yeah. Enjoying your own tour?" I replied after patting her back.

"Not so much. The Grey Sickle is beyond elusive. Have you seen the explosion?"

"Woke me up, but I was on the dark side of the mountain."

"I just the got the report." She pulled out her notepad. "The Panda King's factory was blown up, and the King himself was placed in the hospital for several deep cuts that match the weapon used by the Grey Sickle."

"He survived!" I shouted, nearly blowing my cover.

"…not a big fan of him, huh?" Carmelita asked, leaning on a nearby rail.

"No, not really." I started to backtrack. "Kinda wished he did die."

"Well, he's already healing fast and is expected to make a full recovery in time for trial." Carmelita finished her notes off as she placed the pad back into her pocket. "First Muggshot, and now the Panda King. I guess every other intended victim of the Grey Sickle avoids the death penalty. That might piss him off; he might make more mistakes."

"You have no idea." I grunted.

"Pardon?"

"Nuthing, sis!" I again backtracked. She was right, I was starting to make mistakes. Any minute now, and I would end up just tell her the truth. It was time to go and finish the job anyway.

"So there's only Clockwerk left." Carmelita said.

"Somewhere in Russia." I replied.

"This will be a historic event."

"Indeed." I smiled. "Indeed."


	5. A Cold Interlude

As she waited for slow hospital lift to reach the correct floor, Carmelita peered out the window. While the fire crew was doing the best she could, the huge explosion still towered overs the mountains. Nobody important was killed in the explosion, and the fireworks just exploded instead of going off in fantastic lightshow.

It would have been funnier if they did though.

She destroyed that little thought out of her mind. By this point, the Grey Sickle was going for torture his victims before finishing them off. He would have enjoyed the spectacle if his crew hadn't betrayed him and threw him out of a window. This was a major turn in the case. Not only did the Grey Sickle fail twice to kill his target, but even his own minions got sick of him and had turned state evidence.

Obviously, she should be off to Russia to intercept with Grey Sickle's final target, the elusive and dangerous Clockwerk. But seeing as his last known location was just 'Russia', she had plenty of time to prepare. She might as well have a talk with the conscious Panda King and learn everything she needed to know to tackle Clockwerk. Hopefully, he would provide more information than Muggshot, who just made endless innuendos about her.

"You got a hour." Sternly told the guard. "Your weapon." Carmelita tossed him her shock pistol before opening and closing the door behind her. The room was dark, and the Panda King just laid there in a giant bed; a rag over his eyes.

"Inspector." The Panda King wheezed through his broken ribs. "Is the Grey Sickle caught yet?" The room was basically empty save for the equipment needed to keep the Panda King alive.

"No, but I think you can help me catch him." Carmelita sighed as she pulled up the chair. "He's going for Clockwerk."

"Ah yes." The Panda King coughed. His breathing was very irregular. If she pushed too hard, he would collapse and nothing else would be learned. "Clockwerk. The one who bought us together…the one who wanted the Coopers dead…all save for the child."

"Cooper?" Carmelita repeated. The name sounded familiar. It played a special jingle in her mind. She couldn't catch the tune though.

"Years ago." The Panda King started. "When you were in elementary school. The Fiendish Five were still unknown as a group, yet infamous as individuals. Clockwerk decided it was time to take out a threat. He claimed that the Cooper Clan had been a long time enemy of his, and if he could recall historic events with perfect clarity, it was a threat."

"Wait…" Carmelita held her hand up. "Recall what? Just how old is he?"

"Perfection has no age." The Panda King said. "He kept saying that. It was his motto. He mentioned setting a fire to a forest in Mongolia, a event that lead to the sacking of a treasure hoard belonging to a powerful Khan. The two stories…I once thought they're completely different…but his retelling of the story was perfect."

"He's immortal?" Confusedly asked Carmelita.

"…yes." The Panda King wheezed. "Water." Carmelita quickly grabbed the jug of cool water and poured a glass. "Thank you." The Panda King downed the glass with one swing. "I apologize. I'm still very weak."

"You just escaped being killed by a assassin." Carmelita pointed out. "You suffered several deep lacerations, including one across your neck."

"Yet, I live." He smiled. "I made him aware of what he is. He…took it well."

"You won. His teammates turned sides. He's alone…and die like that unless I catch up to him first before Clockwerk. Now, where's the base?"

"Krack-Karov."

"In Russia?" Carmelita sounded a bit terrified. "The volcano?"

"The same." The Panda King exhaled a couple of times before continuing. "I never been there before, but he did say…that if we needed his help…you know where to find me." He sighed. "I've known that for over two decades. Never once considered it.

"I believe…"

"Believe in what?"

"That if you attempt to go after Cooper, Clockwerk will get you first." The Panda King sounded tired now. "He knows more than anybody else. It's how he managed to stay in business for so long. He prides himself in knowing every secret underneath the sun. If he finds out about the connection between you and the Grey…"

"Stop!" Carmelita stood up. "The only connection we have is that I chase him around the world. I doubt that would make me worthy bait."

"That's not…all…" Panda King started to drift. His eyes were flickering. "…You…and the Grey Sickle…"

"What?" Carmelita went over to his bedside and got close to his face. "What's so damn important about me and…him?!"

The Panda King didn't answer. His eyes were closed, and his breathing regular. He had fallen asleep. Carmelita moved away. She had only spent fifteen minutes with him, and learned very little. And what exactly did she learn? That Clockwerk was immortal, which offered no tactical advantage. And, somehow, that Grey Sickle had some sort of a connection to her that Clockwerk could use.

But what exactly is it?

She exited, and retrieved her weapon without a word to the guard outside. Not much she could really do now but to head to the volcano and try to intercept the final battle. As she exited, she decided to head to the village nearby and get something to eat. She did run into Sly there a hour ago, maybe he was still around.

But, no. Every villager she talked to explained that the other raccoon had left not soon after she went to the hospital. He was a weird one anyway. Always zipping off to somewhere else; he could never sit still in one location. More so than usual.

So many questions raced through her head as she took the helicopter out of the village. The only thing left is go to the volcano and try to actually catch the Grey Sickle and possibly Clockwerk. It was her job to see it through to the bitter end.

And what end it would be, in the raging heart of the volcano. Oh yes…every question on her mind would be answered.


	6. Truth To Be Told

At long last.

The end.

The end of my journey.

The end of the Fiendish Five.

The end of my revenge.

I ran faster than I ever went before in my entire life. My legs were just on auto-pilot at this points. It didn't matter where rocks or holes laid on the ground, I arrived at my final destination. The Krack-Karov Volcano was the base of Clockwerk, the genius and leader behind the gang that stole my parent's life and their family code.

There were only a few pages short from the Codex. And Clockwerk had those pages grasped in his talons. And I fully intend to pry them from his cold, dead talons.

And I was alone. Not that mattered. The terrain was tougher than Bentley's little car or Murray's strength could handle. I was barely traversing it myself. The road itself almost didn't want me to finish, as if it was working alongside Clockwerk. The absolute heat in the air would have melted lesser men. The constant splashes of lava against the rocky road would have warded off the weaker challengers.

But I'm strong. And soon, all the people who wronged my family will have their names crossed off my list.

"CLOCKWERK!" I yelled to the dark skies above. "TODAY…IS THE DAY…WHERE THE GRIM REAPER PUTS YOU DOWN!"

I cackled. I didn't care I gave my position away to the entire world. The world? The world was mine. After this, the Cooper name would be restored to full glory and all those who dared to prey upon anything that can't fight back would suffer beyond full.

I would start a business. 'The Grey Sickle, notorious killer of the infamous Fiendish Five, will kill all who deserve it!' People would pay me in mountains to kill each other! I could play them as well, get them to up their ante until they broke the bank and I would be the only one to ride away and tell the tale.

I would have a family with Carmelita. Yeah. She would offer up a new lineage to the Cooper clan. We were only adopted brethren. No problem here. She had feelings for me. It's was obvious. She only wore the tight, sexy dresses when I was around. She swayed her hips at me. Bounced her breasts at me.

I realize I'm going slightly insane at this point. Talking to myself in short sentences. Shifting between topics at random. Can't help it. I'm just that excited.

"About time, Cooper." A metallic sounding voice boomed all over the volcano.

"Clockwerk!" I shouted into the empty skies. "Come out here and face me! Do the one thing your allies failed to do!"

"The one thing they failed to do was to kill you."

"That's a given!"

"You will not kill me." He sounded so certain of his victory when he should be expecting total defeat. "I've lived longer than all my former friends combined. My experience overshadows your entire existence."

"Keep boasting!" I shouted back. "It's only going to make your death all the more ironic!" A whirring sound came over ahead. I looked up and saw a helicopter video screen descend down.

"Sly Cooper." Again, the voice rang out. "While my fortress is armed to handle Armageddon and does in fact have a death ray, I prefer the much more subtle method of dealing with my enemies. Like for example, I've been watching you since Mesa City. I know you who really are. I know…about…her."

And the excitement died once I saw Carmelita's bounded and gaged body dangling from the ceiling.

"Yes, the vixen. One of the most beautiful women I ever seen in the ten thousand years I've been alive."

"Ten thousand…"

"Oh yes, and this isn't a lie. I've been following the Cooper line since the beginning of time. Since…Bharlagh." I winced. He pronounced perfectly the name of the first Cooper from the times long before civilization. "And for what? To watch the lowest life-forms attempt to evolve…if that's the proper word for it. All races kill another at one point for varying reasons, but you Coopers made it a profession. You treated the destruction of life like someone would tend to the harvest of fields to provide for his country."

I could have sworn, during a brief moment of silence, there came over the entire volcano a slight chuckle from the dead cold voice.

"You are not a reaper, nor his hand. You do not have the power to judge life and death. Likewise, I'm not a reaper. But I'm the devil. Immortal ruler and judge of the damned."

"And this is hell." I grumbled.

"Cerberus will meet you soon." And with that, the intercom crackled and went silent. And in it's place, the ground shook as something heavy drew closer to my location. It sounded like metallic, and walked on four legs.

And it breathed fire on my heels.

I jumped, and turned around to see the monster. Indeed, Cerberus lived up to it's namesake; giant three headed dog with spiked teeth, the previously mentioned flame breath, and pitch-black metal plated skin. While one head swung back and forth continuously laying waste with it's hot breath, the other two scanned the area to look for anything living.

I didn't have long. If one head spotted me, I would be fried. Not many ideas sprang to mind. Couldn't get too close to it. My scythe probably scratch the armor a bit, maybe even chip off some paint. It didn't take a genius that this fight was hopeless. After all, what's stopping Clockwerk from using Carmelita as a shield?

I had to move. Slowly, but to make good progress. Dive from boulder to boulder to avoid detection. The ultimate game of stealth. One wrong move and I won't have time to dwell on it. Again with the short sentences. If I don't calm down, I'll have a panic attack and die. And Clockwerk would laugh his ass off.

Hey.

Wait.

Clockwerk said something about a death ray. But I don't see anything…

There. Hidden about 2250 yards away was a door into the rock. Must be the entrance into Clockwerk's hideout. Now, to cross 2 ¼ football fields without getting any downs…and I'm running out of rocks to hide behind.

"If you don't move in the next fifteen seconds…" The voice of the monster came over ahead. "…I will direct Cerberus manually to your location. Continue the game Cooper!" And the sound of a clock ticking down replaced his voice. Two ticks went by fast.

Remaining calm became impossible. I just started out here and now I was falling apart. I darted my head around and around to look for anything that could buy me even one second. Anything. Anything.

With only three ticks left, and the only plan that laid ahead of me would be even more dangerous. Once the monster's massive claw destroyed the boulder, I jumped into the lake.

And ran across it.

I only had tiny rocks to skip across, and if the lake churned just a bit, I would melt into nothing. I couldn't afford to look back to see if Cerberus could follow me across the lake or fire anything at me. At this point, I was on autopilot. Just skimming across a lake of molten lava.

Once dry and safe land was in sight, I leapt over and rolled to safety. My cloak got ripped and it drifted into the lake, while my body endured several bruises.

As I wearily got up, my eyes shot open in terror as Cerberus was striding over to me. It treated the lava like a wadding pool. Of course Clockwerk would lava-proof his demons. There truly was no escape.

But I still tried. Pulling myself forward with both hands, I dashed towards the door with all the energy I had left. The tremors were getting louder by the second. I overextended myself just to widen the gap between us.

And the door opened and I tumbled in.

As I faded into the darkness, I could hear the mocking laugh of Clockwerk.

* * *

Something cold landed on my head, waking me up. I woke up like one did from a nightmare; screaming and taking heavy breaths. Even inside, the place still burned my body. What could possibly be cold enough to send shivers down my spine?

Oh. Water. A pipe had been cracked a bit. Obviously Clockwerk needed it to keep his machines cool enough to function inside of his volcano base. Swinging my scythe, I expanded the crack to let loose a stream of cool water. I opened my mouth and filled my belly with ice-cold liquid. I felt a bit sloshy, but overall I felt better now that my body was cooled down after walking across a pool of lava.

Looking around, I was amazed to discover that I haven't been moved. There's the door I fell into; right behind me. In front of me laid the factory where Clockwerk worked on his weapons. I didn't know how long I was out. And I also didn't know if Clockwerk had anything set up in the meantime.

I took my time getting through the place. Not just because of the intense heat and trying to predict traps, but also to find about anything about Carmelita. Clockwerk will not harm her anymore. And, by god, if he already did, I wouldn't kill him. Oh no. He would left alive, just like Prometheus.

I darted through the factory, paying attention to nothing other than cameras and robotic guards. I didn't come this way to spend my time searching around for some random treasure. There's nothing here for me but my last act of revenge. I don't even remember what the place looked like. Probably red. Maybe orange.

My brain was wired shut. It could only focus on the goal and nothing else. Carmelita? I couldn't think of saving her. Not that all. If I did, Clockwerk would capture her in a second. Remove the main threat and then save the girl. Sorry, gal, but you have to fend for yourself until I finish the job. Of course, the other problem happened to be me. The Grey Sickle. Constable Cooper couldn't just appear in a secret volcano base and rescue her without drawing any attention. I kept my secret hidden for quite some time…

Wait. If I had plans to fully go into the Grey Sickle business, what would happen to Constable Cooper? Carmelita wouldn't marry the Grey Sickle. No way. And I had no plans on continuing to be the lawman. Monsters needed to be killed, not sent to jail to bide their time. And I wouldn't force her down this path. Guess I have some things to think about.

"Where are you going, Cooper?" Rang Clockwerk throughout the base.

"To you, of course." I replied, gritting through my teeth.

"Odd. You claim to going after me, but you're in the direction of your friend."

And there she was. In the next room laid a Carmelita banging against the bullet-proof glass cage. Even if she could escape, there happened to be lasers walls throughout the corridor. And these walls rotated and changed beams every second. There was no way for Carmelita to escape, and even to me, this would be a challenge.

After starring for a few seconds, a whooshing sound came from the right of me. I turned to see a huge metal wall slowly ascend up and reveal a passageway outside. If Clockwerk treated my mission like a game, this would lead me further up to where he was waiting. Or into the open and awaiting jaws of the beast.

"Your move." He called out.

Guess I wouldn't be getting that time to think things out. I looked forward to Carmelita. I take it that the glass obscured her vision outside, otherwise she might have switched attentions from being entrapped by a monster to the hero she had been chasing for the good part of two whole months. I switched over to the open wall, and saw nothing but more rocky pillars and volcano ash.

I took the best path. The one I chose before. Kill Clockwerk and then save Carmelita. Of course, Clockwerk probably had a plan set up for both occurrences. I just had to be ready for whatever he planned.

* * *

Cerberus couldn't climb up the cliff-face, thankfully. And it couldn't breathe fire that far up either, so it was a easy climb up the volcano. This turned out to be the easiest part of the whole thing. The heat was less intense the higher I went up, the volcano ash could be easily blocked out by a well-placed rag, and my spirits got lifted by seeing Cerberus trying to climb the wall, but just sliding back down.

As I approached the ring of the volcano, I got low and staid close to the mountain wall to avoid being detected by whatever Clockwerk had up here. As the path converged into the ring, I peeked above to see a huge tower with many pylons attached on the sides, with a huge laser cannon on top. That must be Clockwerk's death ray. As the cloud of ash covered above it, Clockwerk must use it to shoot down airplanes or something. There was a narrow path leading to it…

"No need to hide."

I turned around to see nothing but the dark skies. But I could have sworn…

"No need to run either. You're right where you belong." Again, I turned around and around to find whatever Clockwerk's voice was coming from. I was loosing my cool, and I blew my cover.

"Now, you wish to confront me?" His voice rang throughout my head. Maybe he do something to me while I was unconscious. But something else came to my ears. The sound of metal parts fluidly moving upwards the cliff. I turned to where the sound echoed from and pointed my scythe, ready for whatever came my way.

And I nearly cried out in terror. A flying metal demon came from the pits of hell, burning it's huge fiery glare into my skull. Clockwerk.

"You wish to kill this demon?" He asked. "Then please. Purge this mortal realm of me!"

He swooped with wings spread out wide and I ducked. He went over my entire body, completely covering me in shadows. Once the dim light returned, I jumped on top of the volcano and ran down the path to the death ray. Clockwerk was too big (and probably too thick) for me to cut down normally. At this point, the death ray or Cerberus were the only things that could seemly harm him, as long as he didn't proof his own body like with Cerberus.

A harrowing shriek shattered my eardrums, and my running turned into stumbling. Shaking my head and clearing my throat, I picked up the pace to avoid such a noise again. But the large shadow was starting to cover me again, this time at a creeping rate. Like he was toying with me; matching my speed.

No choice but to avoid the direct path. I swung my scythe into a stalagmite and swung myself onto the higher rocky ground. Less travelable than regular ground, but I didn't need to go anywhere. When Clockwerk swooped again, I ducked down and let my scythe dig into his talons and hung on for dear life.

He obviously planned on dipping me into lava, so I started to swing back and forth as fast as I could. I rolled into a ball as I jumped forth and got my scythe to dig into a area in between the metal sheets known as feathers. As he raised his wings to dive down, I again swung around the edge of the wing and landed on top.

Clockwerk reared back up; getting further and further away from the death ray tower. I had to dig into my scythe into his back to hold on, but my grip on the rod was getting uneven. My eyes watered as we picked up speed. He continued to fly diagonally slanted; all to prevent me from getting climbing up to his head and tearing out a eye.

He started to make his way near where Cerberus waited. If it could, it would have smiled to see me again. Clockwerk turned sideways to let Cerberus gobble me up. I had no choice to drop down, and regained my balance to run underneath the beast. Again, the chase with the hell-dog resumed, but with his master blindsiding me every now and then.

It was the end. I traversed through this volcano only to return back where I started. My vision was getting blurry from weariness from the whole affair. My skin was coated in soot and felt like it was fire. My clothes were tattered and I was surprised it didn't catch fire already. A giant fire-breathing monster and a flying demon were coming in for kill. My legs stumbled and I fell onto the hard and hot ground. I tried to drag myself away, but a mighty paw pressed it's weight on me. Not enough to break anything, but enough to hurt me and keep me down.

"Sorry, crusader." Clockwerk gleamed. "But your little request for vengeance ends here." He landed on top of Cerberus. "Pity it had to end this way."

I tried to scream a retort. But nothing came out.

"See you in hell." Clockwerk said as the middle maw of Cerberus opened up to reveal the growing fire.

"NOT TODAY!"

A triumphant scream came from behind me. Two meaty hands took ahold of the paw and lifted it off so hard that the beast toppled along with his master. Clockwerk recovered and took flight, but as soon as he did, a missile around my size ran right into him, exploding.

"DIRECT HIT!"

I started to regain my own balance and got up, slowly starting to recognize the voices. Murray had given the cry for war while Bentley had fired the missile. As I looked behind me, I saw a blue van that stuck out like a sore thumb with a launcher with two more missiles ready to launch.

Murray picked me up with two fingers. "I GOT THIS! YOU NEED TO GET OVER THERE!" He pointed to the laser before roaring off towards the still struggling Cerberus. A mighty punch created a deep dent in the thing before it could get up.

Clockwerk darted through the cloud that resulted from the missile and headed towards me again. The other two missiles went over my head and made a path towards the demon. His eyes glowed a even darker red and beams made out of fiery energy and destroyed one missile, but the other one exploded in front of him. He roared, apparently as a fragment as entered one of his eyes. He turned around and headed to the death ray.

"Get into the launcher!" Bentley screamed.

"What?"

"I can send you to the death ray faster this way!" Bentley opened the tube wide enough to get in. "Come on! If he gets there first, he can destroy us in one shot!"

I had a hard time figuring things out. How did Bentley and Murray find me? Where did they get that van? And why are they trying to help me after they betrayed me back in China?

But still. I had a shortcut now. Provided Bentley didn't plan on betray me again and send me into a lava pool and try to take Clockwerk on his own. With little, yet quiet, hesitation I jumped into the tube. The tube locked and loaded me. After a quick countdown and a few rotations, I shot out at speeds I never experienced. I felt like I would implode in mid-air, or crash into a mountain wall.

Yet, Bentley was a fast thinker. He shot me near a pylon near the top platform of the death ray, giving me the chance to hook onto a pipe and carry my momentum to give me the boost to land safely onto the platform. I skidded a bit though, but still a safe landing. The controls were nearby, but I didn't see Clockwerk. Hopefully, I had some time to figure out the controls before…

"Do not worry. I won't kill your friends." His metallic voice rang around the area. "You used them for your needs. I'll give them whatever they want as they help me." The platform rocked as a giant wing cut a gash into one of the pylons. "As a matter of the fact, calling them your friends is the wrong word."

And there he flew. His eyes looked a bit damaged, but the murderous instincts were still apparent. And now, I had less room to run.

Me or him. Just how I wanted it.

"We have even ground now!" I cried out as I swung several times at his face, scratching the eyes even more. He dipped out of sight, giving me time to head to the controls and try to figure things out. It seemed to be a simple layout; two levers to move the gun on the axis, a computer screen meant to help aiming, a power gauge, (Dark, meaning it was offline.) and the fire switch under a locked cage. I flipped some other switches and the gauge started to flash. It would take some time for it to be filled, and then I need to aim it properly.

Of course, getting Clockwerk to stay in one place might take some smart thinking and good timing. And properly several wounds.

"Come on Cooper!" He screamed as his eye beams fired up and melted through the platform. I ran around the tower to make sure Clockwerk didn't destroy his own weapon. Hopefully, he didn't wise up to my plan. To buy time, I swung on top of the weapon and ran across it. As Clockwerk was coming up to get me, I again got on his back, but this time, closer to his head.

I dug my scythe point into his already damaged eye and twisted it around until I felt it come loose inside. With a mighty lift, I tore out the eye socket, and it fell out and disappeared into the lava below. Clockwerk leaned to the side and I leapt back onto the platform as my final enemy tired to regain his balance.

This was it. The death ray was fully charged, and Clockwerk was having problems keeping his flight steady. Using the levers and the computer, I aimed and locked onto the flying machine. And with a push of the switch, a loud burrowing noise came above me, with a giant red pulsating beam heading directly towards Clockwerk, hitting him dead on.

But he resisted, even though he had no way of controlling his flight without his eye. After steading himself, he pushed his body forward into the beam, moving at a good rate for someone being pushed back by a beam meant to kill all things. I started to move back as he got closer and closer.

Clockwerk opened his beak and bit down right into the laser, tearing off the nozzle with a turn of his head. The gun imploded, and the burning pieces rained down onto me. Several of the fragments landed on me, leaving burning marks and cutting my skin. I screamed out in pain, something that made Clockwerk laugh a little.

"I'll just make another one!" He yelled out loud, answering a question in my mind. "And you DARE think my own weapon can harm me!?"

The weapon teetered above me. The destruction of the weapon had weakened the supports. While he was laughing it off, I saw one of the damaged beam. With what little energy I had left, I swiped my scythe through the support, cleaving it through. Now the weapon platform started to lean to the side.

And with the last of my energy, I pushed the top part of the beam until the thing finally gave way and toppled onto the cackling flying machine, pinning him down and leading him down into the lava. I collapsed again, but this time I remained awake.

I couldn't move now. It took all my energy to slice and push the weapon onto Clockwerk. I was in no shape to do anything now. But I had WON. The worst thing alive…

"COOPER!"

Clockwerk emerged from the ocean of lava; the molten lava covering his entire body, and pouring out of his empty eye socket. AND HE'S STILL ALIVE?!

"YOU WILL NEVER BE RID OF ME!" Clockwerk proclaimed, as he slowly approached the platform as lava dripped onto it melting along the way. "I WILL LIVE FOREVER, AND YOUR FAMILY SHALL FADE!"

He roared again, this time from pain instead of rage. His entire body was surging with electricity…like a shot from a shock pistol. I turned to see the only person who would have one on hand.

"GET HIM!" Carmelita roared. I followed her order by holding my scythe with both hands and swung it like a axe. The scythe cleaved through the head, cutting off the top part clean off. Unable to hold himself together, Clockwerk groaned and descended into the ocean once again, but this time…he didn't come back up.

At long last. Dead.

"Hold it!" Carmelita said as she pistol hummed for a second shot. "Grey Sickle, you're under arrest for 2 counts of murder, 2 attempted murders, several assaults, severe property damage…"

"Hey!" I shouted back. "I just save…" I didn't get to finish my sentence as a shot glanced past my head. She loaded for the third shot.

"You didn't save me, your friends did." She said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how they managed to break out of jail…but I'm glad they did. I hate to see you die…brother."

Oh god.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe you just happened to be traveling around the world at the same time that a assassin is killing off prominent criminals." She held her pistol straight forward as she started to approach me. "Of course…I thought I knew you as somebody nice. Apparently…you fooled your family."

"FAMILY!" I screeched. "THEY DIED!"

"JUST THE COOPERS!" She shoved the pistol into my face. "YOU HAD A FATHER AND MOTHER THAT LOVED YOU, AND YOU THINK OTHERWISE?!"

"S-shut u-p-p!" I retorted. Everything was coming apart. I had no future with Carmelita. I had no way to escape without harming her nor have the energy to do so. And I had no plan to take a dip into the lava. "You're not my family!" I finally regained my cool. "They died by the hands of their enemies, and I avenged them!"

"Revenge is the most worthiest cause." She grinned. "Remember? Your favorite movie. Camelot."

"I lied!" I shouted. "And this isn't revenge! I did the right thing!"

"SHUT UP!" She roared out loud, before I took advantage of her momentary distraction to shove the pistol out of her hand and fling it into the lava below. I shoved her down to the ground of the platform and jumped over her. With scythe firm in my hand, I again used it to swing from pylon to pylon, leaving a cursing Carmelita far behind me.

* * *

I had long since cleared the volcano by the time Bentley and Murray finished destroying Cerberus and came looking for me.

Really, I had no plans now. All I could was go forward and find something to do. The Fiendish Five were either dead or out of the way. I had accomplished my lifetime goal. What's next, really? Start up a murdering business? Retire and live alone for the rest of my life? The latter I had no interest in, but now that my identity was known by a respectable cop, so my business would attract customers. Who wants to hire a recognized assassin?

The fluttering of wings came from behind me. I rose my scythe to attack, but the only thing that was a small robotic owl carrying a white envelope. It flew above me and dropped the letter before flying away. I snatched the letter out of the air and opened it.

In all of this, I forgot the other thing I came for. The last Codex page! But why would Clockwerk deliver it to me? I felt a lump in my throat swell as I unfolded it and started to read it. While the rest of the Codex pages were old and tattered, this one was in good condition. After all, it was the page of my father's.

_My family has long since lived by the code of the guilty monsters deserve death and innocent shall be spared of the scythe. _

_But that's the old ways, the ways that the rest of the world left behind years ago._

_The monsters are less cut and clean. Many of the guilty souls nowadays are seeking the right things by doing the wrong things. The real monsters often get people to do their bidding for them against their will. And by killing them, you kill the innocent. No challenge, no honor and certainly no pleasure of hunting down and murdering a man who has been forced to steal to feed his family._

_Our way of life has made this world a worse place. In our quest to right the wrongs of the world and bring the absolute justice…we have became the things we hunted down._

_We have become the monsters._

_Our cause can still be just. The later generations can learn from the past mistakes. Others will follow our old code and seek to kill us for our crimes, and we must protect others from the all-encompassing path of destruction that comes from revenge._

_Thus, I declare our new code. "All life is precious at beginning. Only those who devalue their life are worthy of death. The scythe shall sever the head and not a leg. For the better of the world, we bring justice to the wicked and salvation to those lost."_

_My son, Sly. Hopefully my words shall encourage to take the family scythe and do right for all. Hopefully, the 'later generation' can be you. Understand this, and don't be disillusioned. We must do right. And I want you to do the right thing. Revenge has lead to so many deaths. _

_You're the rising sun to the future. Be well my little bandit._

There was no mistake. My old nickname given by my dad. Bandit.

I nearly dropped the page, but I safely placed it in my bag before continuing my walk. The grip of my scythe slacked, and I dragged it behind me. It tore a thin trench into the ground…but I didn't care.

Everything.

Everything I did was for naught.

Everything I did was for NOTHING.

You could argue that I had no idea. After all, Clockwerk had the page for over a century. But still, the very idea that you fight for someone who doesn't want to be fought for. Yes, Clockwerk and the rest of the Fiendish Five were evil and needed to be stopped, but look at all the damage I caused.

To make matters even worse, I even did the one thing to Murray that happened to me. I killed his parents, much like how Clockwerk did it to me. Bentley once had bright ideas and bright optimism and now became a gun-toting manic, given the missile launcher and launching me using it.

And Carmelita. Once my friend, and now my enemy.

All my energy was sapped from me. I just dragged my scythe behind me, not caring for anything.

So…it came to a end. My journey to avenge ended with me alone, and the world a lesser place to live in.

I just felt so old and tired. I didn't have it in me no more.

And my road just continued down a grey path with a end too far away to make it.


End file.
